


Lifeline: First Contact

by animelupup



Category: Lifeline (Video Game 2015)
Genre: F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-10-11 10:39:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17445341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animelupup/pseuds/animelupup
Summary: One-Shot, Spoiler Warning for the True End to Lifeline: Halfway to InfinityIt has been several months since Xenosa Markos acted as Cadet Taylor's lifeline from the nameless moon to the Viridian. The fate of her friend remained unknown until an intelligence agency decided to bring her in...





	Lifeline: First Contact

**Author's Note:**

> This is dedicated purely to the Lifeline storylines dedicated to Taylor. I am aware there may be some metaverse connections, but I wanted to keep this short, sweet and simple. True to the nature of the Lifeline games, this is my personal take on it.
> 
> There are spoilers for Lifeline, Lifeline: Silent Night, and Lifeline: Halfway to Infinity
> 
> Feedback is always welcomed.

Men in suits, wearing shades inside the hospital and they requested some lowly x-ray tech? Xen remained cool and collected as can be with her hands stuffed into the pockets of her scrub pants as she stood a respectable distance from the men. From her peripherals, curious eyes peered around the corners to hear what was to be exchanged.

“Xenosa Markos?”

“Yes sir, how may I help you?”

“CIA—” He flashed the badge too quick for her to register. “Were you the last Lifeline for a Cadet Taylor?”

Her chest tightened and she sucked her lips in. Contact was months ago when he was on the Viridian—oh, this held promise, didn’t it? She nodded in return and crossed her arms over her chest. After all this time, they chose to contact her now? And in the workplace no less…

“Come with us, we need to ask you some questions.”

She wanted to stay—the department was understaffed and her absence would hurt like hell. Still… Federal agents took precedent, huh? The sigh escaped her lips and she turned around to talk to the clerk at the desk.

“Give Maurice my apologies, it’s hard to say no to the feds. If I’m not back, guess I’m a Code Yellow.”

Hopefully, she got the message and better yet those two wouldn’t understand it. There was some hope, different hospitals had different codes after all. She unclipped her dosimeter and handed it to the clerk as well before turning on her heel and following the gentlemen out of the hospital and into a black SUV. No sooner had the doors locked, one turned on her, she felt a prick in her neck and she was out cold.

Of. Fucking. Course.

Her head hurt and she didn’t want to wake up. The blankets which enveloped her were a small comfort against the hard bed and the gut that told her she was a prisoner. She rolled away from the assumed door and buried her face into the soft fabrics. What did they want? They wouldn’t believe the story she had to tell of her friend trapped in a time loop in some black hole. After all, that Commander Chilor refused to believe and she was a space marine, someone who saw crazy shit out… Maybe.

There was so much which didn’t add up though: Why was the CIA concerned  _ now _ ? Sure, they were involved with all UFO investigations and the speculative alien life too but still! The Varia’s crash happened almost half a year ago and that was when Taylor established her as a Lifeline! There were reports then, and she was contacted by Chilor too! Granted, communication cut when she went into the mountain… Wait a minute—

Xen sat up in a jolt when the epiphany struck. The Viridian was the ship which boarded the White Star and Chilor commanded that; the Greens occupied the marines’ bodies according to Taylor which meant—shit!

Under the guise of the marines, they gave the all clear. They went after the White Star—after Taylor—and entrapped him in a time loop to create more like T2. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! Her heart pounded between her ears and her chest rose and fell in a manic pace; this was critical! They had to know so they could rescue Taylor and exterminate the—

“Xen?”

The voice of a young man pulled her out of her thoughts and she looked up. Nothing visible on the other side; because of a one-way mirror, no doubt. She swung her legs over the edge and kept her gaze locked to the floor.

“Who’s asking?”

“It’s… It’s Taylor.”

Time stopped.  _ Taylor?  _ That poor schmuck who had Murphy’s Law come down on him whenever it could? That dorky student who could only keep his cool with pop culture references? The selfless hero who protected the White Star and saved Mari from endlessly drifting in space at the potential cost of his own life?

“You… You made it out.”

“Yeah…”

“Dammit, and I thought I’d have more time sculpting that statue of you!”

Small laughter filtered through the speakers and she couldn’t help but giggle along. It was him… It was really him.

“I don’t know how else I can show you how happy I am to know you’re alive.” Her face blossomed into a blush. “Can… Can I hug you? I think I need to see it to believe it…”

A beat of silence and a door which sealed perfectly into the full-mirror wall opened. A young man stepped through, the navy and white space fleet uniform drew her attention first, followed by the unkempt walnut hair, and the genuine smile he had on his face. One look at him, and Xen felt at ease already; this was no joke, this was him.

This was actually Taylor.

Her body reacted quick and rushed over to hug him. When they embraced, she felt his arms come around her and pull her into the brevity of warmth, comfort, and security. She buried her face into his chest and sighed in contentment. It felt too good to be true! This was amazing m, this was—this was beyond words! She looked up to at least try to express it—

Green eyes. Solid green eyes.

In a split second, joy drained away for fear and her heart fell to the pit of her stomach. Xen twisted her body to try and pull away but he had her by her elbows and waist. She kicked and struggled for everything she was worth and hitched her breath when she felt him hide his face in the crook of her neck.

“I’m sorry, Xen… I’m so sorry,” he whimpered. “I’m sorry.”

“I thought we broke the time loop!”

“It’s like T2 said… Time has a way of correcting itself… He figured out how to get back and dragged me back with him.”

“Mari! What about Mari and-and the baby?”

“I’m sorry…”

She should have known nothing was sacred to the Occupiers. This hurt—this hurt so much; had everything she and Taylor worked for really for nothing? Shit, if only she could have been Mari’s Lifeline too. The weight of it all pressed down on her heart, tears threatened at the edges of her eyes but she forced herself to swallow the hard lump.

“So… Which number are you?”

“The OG, Xen. Turns out their army of Taylors was all just a theory after all.”

A smirk tickled the corner of her lips and then exhaustion hit her all at once. Heh, much like her astronaut friend here, she wasn’t an athletic one either. The struggling stopped and she rested the side of her head against his.

“Let me guess: Brought in because I know too much?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, at least it’s not the government saying it. Given the current administration, I’d rather be silenced by the Occupiers any day. It’s at least for a better reason.”

She felt Taylor’s shoulders shake in a small chuckle as he lifted her up gently and brought her back to the bed to sit her down. She glanced over to her only escape and huffed to see it sealed shut once more. She didn’t expect it to be so easy, but it seemed like there wasn’t much of a chance to begin with.

“I don’t get it—you could possibly  _ die _ right now, and you’re making jokes?”

“Now you know how I felt as your Lifeline,” she smiled weakly at him and reached for his hand. “But before I do die… Can I ask some questions?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I know you’re occupied. Hell, it’s all over your face! Why… Why does it still feel like… Why’re you still you?”

“That’s actually a good question, and I don’t know if I can give a good answer,” he glanced down at her hand and carefully slipped his into hers. “Remember how T2 said the queen made special parasites which kept the host loyal along with the mental faculties? I think it has something to do with that.”

Xen nodded along and squeezed his hand. She didn’t want to delay this any further, but it’d help her if she got a full grasp of the situation. “It sounds to me like you can’t really wipe the ‘mental faculties’ without wiping the person… I mean T2’s a jaded asshole because he didn’t have a Lifeline; I can see that being a product of his circumstances,  _ not _ the Occupiers.”

A snort. “That sounds reasonable.”

“The Occupiers are still your priority, though. You didn’t come here  _ just _ to check up on me… Right?”

“Well—I, uh—No, that’s not—I mean..”

Somehow, she had a feeling good ol’ Taylor wasn’t a good liar—hell, T2 was barely that on the Viridian. She smiled to herself and squeezed his hand in reassurance. “Can I assume a special one’s been prepared for me?”

He looked down at the floor and nodded, a frown threatened to stretch across his features. The aggravation of the situation rolled off of him in waves and… Well, she felt touched. Things may not have gone the way he wanted up there but he was still here, so to speak. That’s arguably better than if he faltered anywhere else. She rested her head against his shoulder and took a slow deep breath.

“Taylor?”

“Yeah?”

“I trust you… And if anyone’s gonna put me in a trance, I’d prefer it to be you.”

A moment’s pause. “Look me in the eye, and say that again.”

Another deep breath and she slowly turned to meet his gaze. Taylor seemed to have stolen a glance and reluctantly mirrored her movements. Now that they were closer, she saw the scratch marks on his lips from the Occupier’s crawl inside, the worry etched into demeanor and those bright green eyes. Despite their opaqueness, she still saw the humanity in them and it helped calm her down.

“I trust you, Taylor.” After everything they went through together, it all built up to this final moment. He trusted her when it was time to call the shots, so it was only fair to return the favor. Fear should have seized her but… No, the calm which washed over her was wonderful. There was nothing to be afraid of; they as humans didn’t understand the Occupiers and were therefore afraid… They made the efforts to preserve what made them human. “Does it… Does it hurt?”

“Only for a minute.”


End file.
